Sara Tendulkar's stalker, who threatened to kidnap her, called Sachin his father-in-law

"I saw Sara on TV sitting at the pavilion during a match and fell in love. I want to marry her," the accused said.

Mumbai Police have arrested a 32-year-old man from West Bengal's East Midnapore district for allegedly stalking and threatening former India cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar's daughter Sara. The accused, identified as Debkumar Maity, was arrested on Sunday.

Maity made around 20 calls to Tendulkar's residence in the past couple of months and threatened to kidnap Sara, India Today reported. He told police that he fell in love with Sara and wanted to marry her.

"I saw her on TV sitting at the pavilion during a match and fell in love. I want to marry her. I fetched the landline number of Tendulkar and have called on it some 20 times. I have never seen her in person," Debkumar Maity told police.

Mumbai Police with the help of East Midnapore district authorities arrested Maity, who will be taken to Mumbai for further investigation. They are also investigating as to how he got Tendulkar's landline number.

File photo of Tendulkar attending a monkeygate hearing in 2008Reuters

Tendulkar had lodged a complaint at Bandra police station in Mumbai on December 5, 2017. After the initial probe, police had found out that the man called from West Bengal. On Saturday, a team of Mumbai Police went to Mahishadal police station and arrested Maity.

Maity is a college dropout and is known as an artist in the area. His family claimed that he is unstable and has a long history of mental illness.

"We had no idea how he got embroiled in this case. Even at home, he used to torture his parents. He lost his father recently. He has been undergoing medical treatment for his condition for last eight years," one of his relatives told India Today.

Police have found a diary from his house in which he has called Sara as his wife. When asked if he knows Tendulkar, Maity said, "He is my father-in-law."

Meanwhile, Maity will undergo a medical test to determine whether he is mentally unstable or not.